Change of Name

I accompanied Olivia to the Access PEI office in the Charlottetown Mall this afternoon to submit the paperwork of her official change of name.

The process went extremely smoothly: we were in and out in 15 minutes.

I want to highlight the professionalism of the clerk who processed Olivia’s paperwork. Many people, sensing Olivia communicates differently, defer to communicating with the person accompanying her, often ignoring Olivia completely; in this case, however, the clerk addressed everything directly to Olivia, as is right and proper. It was refreshing.

In a month or so Olivia should have a new birth certificate.

The process was not inexpensive: the change of name was $185 and the new birth certificate was $35. This despite the minister responsible, Hon. Bloyce Thompson, committing to examine the fees three years ago. As reported by the CBC at the time:

Thompson said he would take these concerns back to the department and see if any changes could be made. 

“I have to acknowledge that that is an exorbitant amount of money and I wasn’t aware of that,” Thompson said.

We should be supporting and celebrating trans Islanders in change of name, not imposing financial penalties like this. I hope Minister Thompson follows through on his commitment. 

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Postscript

I heard from Minister Thompson’s office yesterday:

On November 18, 2023, amendments to the Change of Name Act and Regulations came into force which reduced the fee for a legal change of name, from $190.90 to $100.

In addition, the Vital Statistics Office also removed the fees for amending an electronic birth record following a legal name change.

Olivia was charged the old fee in error, and the excess will be refunded.